Hebrews 4
Hebrews 4
New International Version
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[a]3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[c] 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f]Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Footnotes:
- Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
- Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
- Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
- Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
- Hebrews 4:10 Or labor
- Hebrews 4:14 Greek has gone through the heavens
Observation Questions
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
Why are we to be careful that none of us be found to have fallen short of the promise? (verse 1)
Why was the message they heard of no value to them? (verse 2)
What was the difference between those who hear the message and it was of no value and those who heard and enter the rest? (verse 2-3)
When did God rest from all his works? (verse 4)
Why did some not go in to the rest? (verse 6)
Why did God again set a certain day, calling it "Today"? (verse 6-7)
What remains for the people of God? (verse 9)
Who rests from their works just as God did from his? (verse 10)
Why are we to make every effort to enter that rest? (verse 11)
What is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart? (verse 12)
Is there anything in all creation that is hidden from God's sight? (verse 13)
Who must we give an account to? (verse 13)
Jesus the Great High Priest
Why are we to hold firmly to the faith we profess? (verse 14)
Is our high priest able to empathize with our weaknesses? (verse 15)
Was our high priest tempted in every way, just as we are? (verse 15)
Did our high priest sin? (verse 15)
Why are we to approach God's throne of grace with confidence? (verse 16)
Interpretation
For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed - verse 2
What does faith of one who obeys look like?
What is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart? (verse 12)
Application
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest,
so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. - verse 11
References
Psalm 95
New International Version
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a] as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a] as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Footnotes:
- Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
- Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.
Genesis 2
New International Version
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] The name of the third river is the Tigris;it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g]and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
- Genesis 2:6 Or mist
- Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
- Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
- Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
- Genesis 2:20 Or the man
- Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
- Genesis 2:22 Or part
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